'Leadership and mental illness', a seminar by Dr Kai Klasmeier (German Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)

Leadership and mental illness

Abstract

In this seminar, we will explore the complex and reciprocal dynamics between leadership behavior and employee mental illness. While organizations are increasingly striving for inclusion and the prevalence of reported mental health conditions is rising, leaders often face significant uncertainties and resource constraints when leading employees with these specific needs. This talk introduces a multi-level conceptual model that examines how team- and organizational-level factors can shape the leaders’ behavioral response to employee mental illness. Additionally, first empirical findings from a representative longitudinal study of the German workforce will be presented. Using cross-lagged panel modeling, the data provides preliminary support for the model's central tenets.

About the speaker

Kai N. Klasmeier is a research project leader at the Federal Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (Dortmund, Germany). He is also an associated researcher at the University of Hamburg and an associate editor of Group & Organization Management. His research focuses on understanding multilevel phenomena, such as destructive leadership, leader-follower interactions, and well-being. He has published in the Journal of Business and Psychology, the Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, and the Journal of Organizational Behavior.